Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

awesome product, worth every penny!

This is perfect for any gamer, any platform there is! Ever since i have had this i have made loads of videos and has given me alot of Views and subscribers.. why? Because they can clearly see my work, hear the audio which brings them back for more videos. This is worth every penny, you will always have it unless you sit on it and break it :P plus if you ever get bored off recording you can always sell it for a little less for what you bought it for which is a back up. Though mostly you wont want to let go of it because it is perfect picture and audio quality. Easy to see when recording because when you press record the box has a green light pop up which indicates "recording" and when you press stop it stops glowing.

It is easy to set up, follow the manual and you will have this set up within 10mins. The editing software with it is ok, it is not the greatest but there is many websites you can buy software to meet your needs.Mostly this allows you to show off your recording skills or perhaps awesome sniper kills from Call of duty or maybe you want to show of your creation from Little big planet.

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

Amazing product but very expensive.

I personally use the Hauppauge HD PVR to record gameplay from my PS3, and has served its purpose for the last 2 years without any problems. It records in whatever format can be supported by your TV or games console, from 560p to 720p HD to higher resolutions. The only thing I would say is, if you're intending to buy one, you will need a good quality television. As I have previously encountered problems with low quality HD televisions. I would experience the infamous NO SIGNAL problem, which I found out to be the fault of my television. Once I upgraded I never encountered the problem and could record without any other problems.

It is very easy to set up and start recording! Records very high quality video, but takes up a lot of space on your storage device!It can record anything with has suitable inputs/outputs! (IN HD)

It comes with software to use that is free, if you're on PC that is. The software is easy to use and comes with an instruction manual.

If you own a MAC however, you need to download separate software, ELGATO EYE TV. The downside of this is, the software is very expensive, and with the HD PVR already being expensive, it brings up the total price considerably if you own a MAC.

If you are using it for gaming purposes, then you may have to buy an extra cable to allow it to work, for PS3 you will, although it only costs around £7-£10 from amazon, so it isn't too bad. I think the same goes for Xbox.

If you're serious about the purposes you would buy it for, then it is an amazing purchase. Very expensive but produces amazing results.

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

If you want HD get the PVR, If not get the Dazzle. The choice is yours.

If you're reading this then you are wondering which capture card is going to get you the best quality when recording your video game gameplay or television programmes. Currently in this type of market there are two main contenders for "the best" capture card and both have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this review I am going to state, from experience, which I feel is the better capture card.

Starting with the Hauppauge HD PVR:This capture card allows you to capture what ever it is you are recording in 720p or 1080i HD. Now if you are going to be recording gameplay from xbox 360, PS3 or nintendo Wii to upload on to sites like youtube, then HD is now a necessity. Some people won't watch certain videos or clips because they can't view in High Definition. Following on, the Hauppauge records with a constant 60 FPS (frames per second) and comes with its own basic editing software so if you are interested in creating videos or media with your recorded footage then this will give you a headstart before buying specialist software like sony vegas. However, all great things come with a price and this one... is kind of big. Being the top rated company for HD recording software Hauppauge can get away with putting a £160 - £210 price tag on this type of product. So if you are just starting out and want to see how you go then this may not be the thing for you. Although these a bound to sell second hand on site like Ebay relativly quickly and still at a high price with only a minimal loss.Continuing on from this you may need to buy some HD AV cables for your consoles as it doesn't have HDMI sockets and this may be a problem if your TV doesn't have AV compatability, now these cables are fairly cheap about £15 each but so far thats a total of over £170. Finally this leads me on to setup. The thing itself is fairly small and can be tucked away nicely. However, it comes with alot of cabling so can look untidy with a backless TV stand. Moreover, it needs to be fairly close to a PC due to the fact the cable supplied is fairly small. This means you may need to buy a USB extender or a longer cable which again adds to the total.Most Importantly, only buy this IF you have a HD TV. There is no point forking out an extra £80 - £100 on something you can't use to the best of it's ability.

Dazzle:Now, the Dazzle is much cheaper then the HD PVR counterpart ranging from £40 - £70. This is a huge difference because even with the cost of any extra cabling your going to keep the total price at under £100 and save £70 or so then if you bought a HD PVR.However, the Dazzle only records in SD or standard Definition. Like I said previously if your trying to upload videos for viewing on youtube then be prepared for comments on quality. However, if your only using it for personal benifit to have a mess about and explore video editting then this won't be a problem.Again, the Dazzle is fairly small and easy to setup with numerous video guides available if you have any problems and again cabling is kept to a minimum but you will need to be near a PC or have a USB extender.Similar to the HD PVR the Dazzle comes with its own easy to use Video Rendering and editing software which is a step up from programmes like Windows movie maker but its nothing of the sort of Sony Vegas.Again like the HD PVR you will need to use AV or Component cables due to no HDMI slot as this doesn't record in HD so if you don't have this (which you should) then this could be a problem.

What to choose:This all depends on one thing. Purpose. If you want something that is going to record footage that will make people go wow then you should get the HD PVR. If you want something to mess about with and try out then you should take the Dazzle. If you are limited to Price then I would suggest the Dazzle, but if you want HD then its the PVR you need.

Ask yourself this: Do I want HD recording? Once you know the answer you know what to buy.

Thanks for reading, have any questions feel free to comment.John_Doran.

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

Ultimate HD recording device

My personal review on the Hauppauge HD PVR.

Wondering what it is? Basically its a recording device which allows you to record your ps3, wii, xbox screens and much more all by simply connecting up the HD PVR to your HD TV and to your computer. In my eyes its the best thing to record your gameplay, and it has turned out to be one of my favourite hobbies, as i enjoy going on youtube and making videos. If you don't have a HD TV, and have a standard one, the picture quality still will be good, but not as good, and it wont be displayed in widescreen; so its definitely recommended if you want to play gameplays and buy the HD PVR, that you have a HD TV first. ;) What I like about it is that when its actually recording the gameplay, a blue inner light appears on the device itself, which in my opinion looks really cool. Also the light can tell you if its recording or not, or if you have used to much recording time memory - but this depends on how much memory on your computer. Usually you can be allowed to record unlimited recordings, as the files dont save on the device itself, but on the computer its connected to. However if you are trying to make recordings you will have to buy the Official component cables first. This was annoying as i would of thought everything should of been packed together in the same box, but turned out i had to wait yet another day for the component cables to arrive. The record data rates from 1Mbs to 13.5Mbs, which is good for getting out the best quality. You can change these settings with the CD provided when you buy the product, if you look on the web you can surely find out how to get the best quality from your HD PVR. It can record up to 1080i, and 720p, or VGA/D1. If you use 1080i it could most probably burn out your computer, so its recommended you record with 720p, as its just as equally the same quality. It can also record your old VHS videos and put them on your computer, but not as high quality, it depends on how you recorded them in the first place.

There's nothing more i could possibly say for this fantastic product. A quick 5 stars from me. Since i have got it its brought nothing more then happiness! :) A must get for any console owners who want to record there gameplay!

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

buy this now if you want to capture video in stunning HD. It is worth every penny.

This HD PVR capture device is by far the most useful on the market. In terms of video quality it is incredible. You will create hd movie clips that you can easily render in a software program such as Sony Vegas into a full on hd video that can be uploaded onto YouTube in no time. I have used this product on the Xbox 360 and captured games such as Gears of War 2 and 3, you can find example videos on this site http://gowportal.com under the videos section and the homepage. It is recommended you have a decent laptop/desktop to handle video editing software as it can become very demanding on memory and hard disk space. A dual core pc is pretty much a must. A good graphics card and plenty of memory will ensure that your movies get rendered faster. There is absolutely no flaws with this product. The only thing that would beat it is if it were wireless somehow, as it can get a bit messy around the back of your TV with so many cables. It comes with composite cables and everything you need to get going. You will need to download the latest software from the happuage website, but this can be done relatively easily although it can be a bit tricky to find the correct file.

If you are thinking about purchasing a dazzle platinum and are not very computer savvy then this option is definetly better in terms of video quality, ease of use and value for money. It may be a little pricey but it is worth every penny guarenteed. Time to capture some amazing video moments from your games! Buy it now!

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

A great product, although it has a high price.

This is a brilliant product to use with the PS3, to record the gameplay. It's easy to set up, the picture quality is brilliant but it is quite expensive and the files take up quite a lot of space on your hard-drive.

The packaging is good, but the box is quite thin so it can get damaged when it's being delivered, like mine. The instructions included are quite clear. It's also easy to get out of the box and can be put back in to be stored easily.

The set up is very easy, with the cables able to be inserted easily matching up the colours. You then run the software on your computer, and this is good but also quite slow and resource hungary on Vista, but better on XP. However, it doesn't work on Mac which is a shame. You need to buy HDPVR Capture or Elgato eyeTV instead, meaning even more cost.

The software is easy to use, easy to navigate and chose the options.

The picture and sound quality is also brilliant, but this means that it takes up quite a lot of space on your hard-drive. It matches up to quality seen on the HDTV when ran on my Macbook Pro. It can be used to record anything with the suitable inputs.

However, the price is also very high costing £149 from Amazon. It's one of the only bad things about the product, but it's the best thing to record the PS3 with.

Overall, a great product but at a high price. It's reliable and easy to set up, running in minutes. However, it doesn't work on Mac without extra cost but the picture quality is brilliant.